The Timekeeper
by ResidentDawnshipper
Summary: "Only you can save Hyrule, Caden." Cole seems like a know-it-all, but does he really know it all? Can a twelve-year-old truly be held responsible for the fate of the entire world? Somewhat AU, based on OOT. OC. Rated T for violence and future language.
1. Prologue

**The Timekeeper**

**x...Prologue**

Thirteen men and women watched helplessly as the once-beautiful land burned and burned. Above them a man clad in black clothing with a red cape took advantage of the weak who attempted to escape, tormenting them with fireballs he created out of thin air to burn through their bodies. He used telepathy to toss mercilessly more than half of them into the active volcano several miles away; one could hear them scream in agony as they sank into the lava, vanishing instantly from sight and existence.

The man enjoyed the gore; he enjoyed the painful screams, shouts, and even the cries for mercy. Nearly a handful or less was spared, and when one was, he was doomed to a lifetime of working as a servant for little food and no money, preparing everyday for the impact of death. Those who were not spared suffered horrible deaths of the man's creative mind; even if they had run, the man would send minions to slice off their heads, leaving the destruction to lie for an eternity.

From the only safe shelter the men and women watched, horrified. Never again would the beautiful lands of Hyrule be as vibrant and bright or lush and colorful as before it had once been. These citizens were hopeless - nothing could ever have saved them. The once-green trees were now attacked by orange and red flames - if not already burnt down -, the lake was drained to nothing but a mere pond, carcasses of deceased animals lay in the once-thriving forest, and the sky had shaded to a permanent black. The only remaining river, in the valley, overflowed with decapitated bodies, their heads never to be found. Blood lay everywhere - staining the dirty land, the clothes of the minions and their blades, and the now red fences that had been placed ever-so gracefully along the paths of Hyrule.

The man, now satisfied with his work, called to his minions in an eerie, low voice and flew away, the minions charging after in his direction.

The used-to-bes of the land did not matter at this point. The eleven citizens were staring into the eyes of Death. Without a doubt, in all of its time, Hyrule's largest disaster that ever had stricken was this.

The black-clad man rose to the skies, using magic of some sort, and spotted the tiniest known civilization. He could make out ten - no, eleven - figures huddling together on the ground inside of a shallow cave; they were all whimpering. He thought of no mercy and gradually lowered himself to the ground, bringing up his right hand and summoning fire magic. In an instant a fireball was created and he chuckled before tossing it carelessly into the forest cave.

"No, please!" one cried.

"Stop this madness!" another called out.

"You will pay!" a last shout sounded.

But he paid no mind to any of them; he continued on his way after looking back at his minions and rose back up into the air, laughing maniacally to himself as he heard the sizzling noises behind him.

But little did he know, in the deepest and darkest cave of the forest more citizens stayed as the only standing civilization after this catastrophe. Hidden in this forest were Hyrule's true intelligent ones. Four women and six men cared here for the one pregnant woman who was due anytime. One of the men was her husband, another being her brother.

As of then, that deep forest meadow was the safest place for a baby to have been born.

…

A baby's cry was shrill in the distance. The ten-year-old boy ran outside and to his mother, looking at his new baby brother. His mother had her hair down, strands of red being whipped everywhere by the wind, and her violet eyes peered into his greens; his father stood beside her, a hand on her shoulder, with a sad look on his face. The boy's mother gestured for him to go inside and wait. Moments later his father followed him inside and locked eyes with his firstborn, Cole, and handed him his brother.

"Your mother and I love you," his father began. "Do not ever forget that. What I need for you, Cole, to do," he knelt down and placed his hands on Cole's shoulders, "is wait." He now locked his own violet eyes with Cole's green ones. "Can you do that?"

Cole nodded at last. His father stood up, ruffled his son's hair, and walked away.

"Your brother's name is Caden." With this he left finally, shutting the curtain door behind him before Cole could ask any questions. What was he to do with this newborn?

Screams could be heard from the distant outside and Cole stood by the hollow window, carrying his brother, but retreated as he realized he did not want to see the sights.

So he did what his father had told him to do. He waited.

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><p><strong>AN: Whoa! Bet you weren't expecting that epic of a prologue, huh? XD. I really know where I'm going with this and the sooner I can get there, the better. I like this idea so far - I've been working on it since I was about 14, so I've revised A LOT. Let's just see how this turns out, though. Reviews are very much appreciated!**


	2. Meetings and a New Beginning

**The Timekeeper**

**x…Chapter One**

**Meetings and a New Beginning**

A twelve-year-old boy climbed up the ladder to his house, a tree house ten feet above the ground, a disturbance creeping up on him. Once he reached the porch he inhaled deeply, fixed his tunic, and put his hand on the curtain door, ready to pull it open. He heard some footsteps behind him and cursed to himself, sighing.

"There you are," a man behind him spoke. If only the boy had been on the porch two seconds earlier he would not have had to listen to his brother's lecture. "Where were you?" The man set on the porch a basket as he himself climbed up the short ladder. He was a twenty-two-year-old fit man with dirty blond hair that clung to his face and hung in his eyes.

The boy retracted his hand's grip on the curtain and turned around, shifting his gaze to his boots. Dull and ordinary, they were. "I was just in the woods - "

The man scowled at his brother. "The Lost Woods?" His brother nodded sheepishly. "You know you're not allowed in the woods, Caden."

"I don't do no harm!" Caden shouted. "Not like it's against the forest laws."

The man picked up the basket and adjusted it on his arm. "It is if you're as young as you are." He pushed his hair out of his eyes and pulled open the curtain door. He called out to another man inside, "Hey, Uncle! Caden was in the woods again!"

The man inside sighed and stood up out of a wooden chair. He pushed his brown hair out of his eyes and gave a scowl at the boys. "Ten years ago I took you boys in, and this is how you repay me?" he asked in a low voice.

Caden followed his brother into the house and glanced at his uncle. "Sorry, Uncle Tito," he muttered under his breath. Hadn't he had enough lecturing today?

"That's right." Uncle Tito grinned; then his look became serious once more. "Now, see, if you was more like your brother Cole here, none of us would be in this heap o' trouble now, would we?" He put a hand to his forehead, signaling his lecture was over and that his nephew was free to go. The twenty-two-year-old man, Cole, set what was perched on his arm on a stool not far from the scene.

"You see?" he began. "You can't go runnin' around every time you feel like it." He crossed his arms and stared at Caden, who had now crossed his own arms and looked away. "What were you doing in the woods, anyway?" He walked up to him. "Well?"

Caden shifted uncomfortably. "I don't hafta talk to you," he snapped, focusing his attention on the world outside the window. His attention was grabbed by a girl clad in green clothes, similar to his own. His ears perked up and he uncrossed his arms, relieved that he had found an escape. "Kari's here. Bye." And with that he rushed past his scowling brother and indifferent uncle and out the doorway, climbing down the ladder with haste. From inside, Cole sighed and followed after, managing to get a warning in before Caden and Kari left finally.

"Stay _out _of those woods!"

Caden looked back and up at him. "Whatever!" And he and Kari ran exactly to the forbidden place, the Lost Woods.

Kokiri Forest was more lively than ever today, with kids running crazily and chasing each other. The Deku Sprout in front of the deceased tree was smiling, as normally it would. The Kokiri bully, Dominic, was surprisingly in a neutral state, sitting along on a rock, watching the day go by. All seemed more lively except Kari, with a plastered-on thinking face.

They climbed up the vines to the hill where the entrance to the woods was and Kari finally spoke, clearly enunciating each word.

"There is something I must tell you."

Caden suddenly turned to her, looking into her sad eyes. "What's with the sudden mood change?"

She smiled sadly. "Come on." She grabbed his hand and led him into the woods. Right, left, right, left, straight, left, and right again and they were into Kari's secret place. "You do remember this place - don't you?" she asked hopefully. It had been several years since they had found this meadow; they had only been about five or six years old. "I call this the Sacred Forest Meadow," Kari explained, looking all around her. "Remember when we used to avoid the Scrubs to get to the stairs and that tree that we could never climb?" Caden nodded slowly, confused. "Follow me."

Kari led the way once more, dodging the Scrubs' shot seeds, laughing the whole way. Caden followed behind, being a bit more awkward with his dodges and almost getting hit by a seed. Finally they reached the staircase and they raced up, Caden beating Kari by not a meter. He looked around the small block of meadow, reminiscing on all that he found familiar, until spotting a platform several feet from them.

"I don't remember this being here," he said, walking up to it. Kari followed behind him with the knowledge that Caden only wished he had. He turned around to face her and saw that look - the look of knowledge. "Why can't I remember this?" he asked, suddenly hoping she would provide the answer.

"I do not have all of the answers, Caden," she began, "but I will do my best to explain." She stepped onto the platform with a strange-looking triangle and sat, motioning for him to as well. He did and she sighed and began again. "You must be nicer to your uncle and brother."

Caden rolled his eyes. "They don't know anything; why should I even have to be raised by them?"

Kari waved her hand at him, signaling him to stop. "You once told me you remembered this event from your childhood. Can you retell it to me, please?"

He nodded. "Sure, if afterwards you can tell me what this's all about." He thought for a moment then remembered that day, twelve years ago. "I had just been born," he said. "Why can I remember that? I wasn't even two minutes old yet." He looked up at Kari who motioned for him to continue. "I.. I remember seeing a man. He was dressed in all black - no, wait, he had a red cape. He looked at me with a really mean, disgusting face." He looked down again, picking at the leather on his boots. "I remember being handed to someone - to Cole, I think - and then I never saw my mom again. What was that man doing - I don't know; no one's ever told me." He managed to pick off a chunk of leather and tossed it to the side, looking back up again at Kari. "But I know - I _know - _he had something to do with my mom's death." He pushed his blond hair back, now frustrated but still confused. Kari in front of him put a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

"That man was evil, Caden," Kari explained. She took her hand off of him and he looked at her once more with an even more confused look than before. "I know some things that you would never if I don't tell you now. You have the right to know." She bit her lip. "Your uncle Tito was one of the five people who survived that man's attacks."

"Attacks?" Caden asked. Kari nodded. "What kind of attacks? And why was my uncle being targeted?"

"He targeted all of Hyrule. He spotted the smallest groups of people with peripheral vision." Kari sighed. "He found your uncle and the four people with him. But he had a miraculous thought and spared them, but only if they could survive the rock fall he summoned after. He intended for the cave's ceiling to crumble, and it fell slowly. They managed to escape and they saw they were the only living people in Hyrule - other than you and Cole, of course."

Caden thought about this. His uncle Tito had met that man? But why had he and Cole been spared? Had the man simply not seen them? And why hadn't Cole ever told him about this? "Why's there so many people if it's only been twelve years since he attacked, then?"

Kari again bit her lip, contemplating whether or not to tell what she knew. Would Tito be upset? "Have you ever heard of the Chosen Ones?" Caden shook his head and she sighed again. "It's okay," she assured him when he put on an annoyed expression. "Not a lot of people know; it's better if they don't. But Tito and the people with him - the goddesses Din, Nayru, and Farore gave them powers to ensure the repopulation of Hyrule went well. They were given the power of time." Caden gave her a blank stare. "They could repopulate the land with their bare hands!" He was shocked now. How could anyone have that much power?

"In two years," she continued, "before Tito met up with you and Cole, they had used magic and rituals in order to speed up the aging process so that they could repopulate the land. So, in a way… everyone in Hyrule is now related. Well, everyone besides you and Cole; you guys are related to each other but were truly born, not created."

Caden held onto his shocked expression for several moments before managing to formulate words. "But Kari, you're still a kid, like me."

She nodded. "Kids from the forest don't grow up. We always stay the same." She smiled suddenly. "Haven't you ever wondered why I never looked my age when we were kids?"

"Yeah, I guess." He couldn't take this weirdness anymore. "Look, Kari, thanks for telling me all this - " he got up - "but I should get going now. Cole's already gonna have my head for being in the woods." He turned around and ran in the opposite direction, never looking back.

Kari sighed. At least she had told him. But not enough was said. More facts lingered yet, waiting to be discovered. After a moment she took our of her pocket a brown and green ocarina, tracing it over with her hands. She settled for playing an old song, an ancestor's song.

Saria's Song.

...

"I missed them." The man pounded his two fists on the desk in front of him. His cape flew up from the impact and his dark eyes were shut. "You!" He pointed a finger to another man, who seemed worried. "You told me all of them were dead!"

The burly man whimpered. He couldn't have been older than twenty. I'm s-sorry, sir. These boys were - well, one was barely a newborn - the other could've only been nine or ten years old. Please, sir. Spare me - them! I mean spare them!" He spoke quickly, as if it would have lessened his boss's rage.

The boss stood up, pure hatred in his eyes. "This is the third time you have failed me, Larry. Do you have the slightest bit of an idea of what I do to minions who fail me?" He held out his hand and clenched his teeth in rage. All of a sudden a fireball was created in the palm of his hand and he threatened to hurl it at his minion.

Larry begged. "Sir Ganon, no!" He covered his face with his arms. "They saw you - the younger boy saw you! That newborn boy - he fears you! I could bring him to you, sir, if only you spare me!" He forgot the fact that those boys were deep in the forest and he had forgotten the path to that forest. He left out that piece of information, willing only to save himself. His boss ignited his fireball.

"Give me one reason for a last chance!" he demanded, creeping closer to Larry.

Larry uncovered his face. He explained slowly and softly, "I'm your last minion, sir."

Sir Ganon blew out the fireball. "I could very easily pick out fifty new, loyal minions who would never wish to betray me." Both knew this was untrue, however; without the power of the Triforce he had lost so long ago, he was powerless against the Hylians. He ignited another fireball and hurled it two feet from Larry.

"Never betray me again!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Phew. That took a lot from me. Don't expect an update every day. And for those of you who view but don't _re_view - review, damn it. Hope this suits your needs, though it is a bit far-fetched at this point. Don't worry - I plan on explaining a lot of things in the next chapter. Maybe Caden won't be so itching to leave once this sinks in.**


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